POIGNANT PLAYOFF MOMENT
Stecher salutes dad after big goal
Troy Stecher poignantly pointing to the sky defined the moment on Wednesday night.
The plucky Canucks defenceman from Richmond is best known for his defensive abilities and smart takes on the game, much less for providing offensive punch.
His goal in Wednesday’s 5-2 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their Western Conference firstround series stood as the game winner.
He followed his laser-like shot that beat Blues goalie Jordan Binnington by pointing to the sky at Rogers Place in a salute to his dad, who died of diabetes-related heart problems on Father’s Day.
It was as emotional a moment as we’ve witnessed in the 2020 NHL post-season. He wiped a tear from his eyes. Elias Pettersson gave him a hug at the bench. Bo Horvat, the team’s captain, became emotional speaking about the moment after the game in Edmonton.
“Thankful to be surrounded by my teammates,” Stecher said after the game. “Winning definitely helps. The atmosphere and the vibe in the room is a lot better, even back at the hotel when we’re hanging out. Even if we were losing, I think, just being around the teammates and the guys you’re closest with, who you spend the most time with, you’re going to have happy thoughts.”
Winger Brock Boeser has known Stecher for many years, dating back to their time at the University of North Dakota.
“Seeing him point up to the sky, it gave me chills,” Boeser said Wednesday, when asked to reflect on what his friend had done and was going through. That Stecher got to play hero made Boeser happy. “It’s tough for Stech — there’s good days and bad days.”
Boeser’s father had a health scare last summer, when he was again diagnosed with cancer. He thought his dad might die. He heard from teammates, all supporting him.
“Whenever someone goes though something like that, we have a close group here, everyone is so supportive,” he said. “A lot of really good human beings on this team.”
Just as important in the Canucks’ playoff-opening win was the play of Stecher and his defence partner Alex Edler. They went head to head with the Blues’ first line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Brayden Schenn and Jaden Schwartz and kept them contained.
When Stecher and Edler were on the ice against the big line, which totalled more than six minutes, the Canucks outshot the Blues. That’s as good a result as you can hope for in a matchup, especially one that features the opposition’s top scoring line.
“Just trying to play hard. It’s the playoffs here, so there are no more excuses,” Stecher said of how he and Edler played against the Blues. “Every single puck battle matters, winning every single line matters.
It comes down to details at this time of the year.”
Edler has been a Canuck for 14 years. He’s had many blue-line partners over the years. Since Travis Green took over as the Canucks’ head coach in 2017-18, he’s often turned to Edler and Stecher to be his shutdown combo.
“I thought Baumer did a good job getting them out there,” Green said post-game, handing credit to assistant coach Nolan Baumgartner
for achieving the team’s preferred matchups as often as he could, no mean feat given that the Canucks were the visiting team and didn’t have the final change for faceoffs.
“Stech is a competitor. Smart player. Gets himself in good position. He’s fearless. And we all know about Eddy. They’re a good pair.
We’re confident in that pair,” he added.
Edler chalked up their success to superb communication.
“We’ve played together now for a while, we read each other well,” he said. “Our strength is that we battle really hard in our end, just try to keep it simple, do the right play, use each other when we can,” Edler said.
“We talk to each other. ... Over the years we’ve been building up a good relationship on the ice.”
MILLER EXPECTED TO BE FINE FOR GAME 2
Whenever someone goes though something like that, we have a close group here, everyone is so supportive. A lot of really good human beings on this team.
We still don’t know why J.T. Miller wasn’t able to participate in the Game 1 warm-up. He was briefly listed as a scratch before the game and Adam Gaudette skated in his place during pre-game rushes, but was pulled at the last minute so Miller could play.
Asked Thursday if he expected Miller to join the Game 2 warmup, Green said he didn’t anticipate any issues.
HAMHUIS HANGS ’EM UP
Former Canucks defenceman Dan Hamhuis, a mainstay of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals team, announced Thursday that he’s retiring.
“Happily going into retirement now from hockey. Feel really at peace with it,” he told TSN 1040.
Hamhuis said he decided in February that this would be his final NHL season. He wanted to play in Europe for a year so his family could have a new experience, but those plans changed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.